The Baddest Modded Case Contest!

I'm still not sure how I'd suspend the orb (which is essentially the case) but in its current state it would just collapse. I found this article on Tom's Hardware about water cooling so that should help (only read one or two of the eleven pages). The "water cooling box" in my diagrams is the reservoir (I think).

Tomorrow I might be able to get some better drawings down. Rough ones like I've posted helped me get a good idea of the form. For anyone whose used UnrealEd they might know about the tool that blurs everything so you can see the flow of colours in the map, it's a bit like that.

The base is attached to the head through the pipes, which are mainly metal pipes (like those in the ORAC case mod, don't know what they're actual name is) and a few water cooling pipes. The water cooling pipes would need to be extended somehow to reach from the base to the body. If you look at those pictures of sentinels I posted before, it might better explain my design.

Update
I've done a couple of cleaner drawings, which I'll try and upload tomorrow, along with some more if I can.

Contest due date pushed back to April 4th

Hey, thanks for pushing it back. Not too sure I'd be able to get it by 28th, gotta catch up on my homework :(

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Originally Posted by TheGreatSatan

Contest due date pushed back to April 4th

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noooooooooooooooo :( i go on hoilday on the 3rd so i won't be able ti see if i won :(:( i was fine with finishing it tomorrow

if you win you'll see it when you come back =P

I actually like this date push-back cuz I'm currently on an inferior computer at home with a 6600 that just can't handle anything beyond a rectangle in google sketchup. I go back to my gaming desktop this sunday, which gives me a fighting chance =D sweet.

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Originally Posted by ShadowNyfe

if you win you'll see it when you come back =P

I actually like this date push-back cuz I'm currently on an inferior computer at home with a 6600 that just can't handle anything beyond a rectangle in google sketchup. I go back to my gaming desktop this sunday, which gives me a fighting chance =D sweet.

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i hope i win :banana: i real bad want that case, ans soz to hear you comp run sketchup :mad:

i might acutely have some compatiton on my hands :lick::lick:

Everyone loves competition.

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Originally Posted by TheGreatSatan

Everyone loves competition.

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yer i do but i really want that case :)

is it too late to enter? :S

2x120mm Intake Fans on the bottom (not shown in picture)
2xRadiators with fans pushing are out of case at the top rear.
Case is roughly 40cm x 60cm in dimensions.
The center cirlce will light up, and its brightness intensity will increase as the computer uses more power.
When it hits the max, it will blink repeatedly indicating that the pc is completely stressed out. (at least thats the idea). The insides will illuminate to a dim blue.

Unique thing about the case design is that it resembles that of a car, with the exterior that can come apart from the mobo tray base. So all you have to do is lift up the shell and then you can work with the insides with relative ease, as opposed to working with side panels.

Design is inspired by many things, including Batman, Gundam, amongst other techno stuff.

The above was actually one of my concepts for a case I was going to work on, but due to my limited hands-on experience with modding, this is a concept that probably will never materialize just because of the complexity in geometries.

yer you are..... only joking, and WOW batman style

lol, yeah, big fan of Batman which is where I got some inspiration for the above unnamed sketch, Dark Knight comes out on my birthday too, lolz.

OK, so here's my entry (I can still enter right?)

I decided to build a rocket!, nah, really a space shuttle attached to an external fuel tank on a launch tower. I know the model I built is not finished yet, but I don't think I'll be able to update before the competition ends. Anyways, here are some pictures first, I'll say something about it later:

Overview picture:

Side-view picture:

Front-view picture:

Not finished
So, like I said, the thing is not finished. Obviously the tower and external fuel tank will be connected. The connection will be the same kind of design as the main tower. there will be a connection at the top of the tower and one near the bottom of the external fuel tank (about the height of the HDD)

Size
As you can see I had to make quite a big rocket to fit all the goodies inside. The external fuel tank (EFT) is 168mm in diameter (scale 1:50) which makes a total height of about 1.2 meters! (4ft)

MoBo
The motherboard fitted inside this 'case' will be a miniITX board. Because those board are quite small and are also able to be fitted with a reasonable processor.

Power supply
I was thinking about where to put the power supply for this thing and I thought it would be difficult to place somewhere in the case. So I decided to put in a PicoPSU (linky) so I wouldn't have to worry about a bog size PSU. The PicoPSU does need a 12V feed though, so a 220-12V (or 110-12) power adapter will be needed. This will fit in the top section of the external fuel tank (EFT).

Airflow
Components need cooling, we all know that. I tried to figure out a way to get airflow through the system, yet I didn't want to compromise on the looks. There will be a 120mm intake fan at the bottom of the EFT. Off course the air needs to go somewhere, so there will be a smaller 80mm exhaust-fan just above the I/O-panel of the mobo. I think this will be enough airflow, because the ITX-system will probably not produce a lot of heat anyway.

Optical drive
Now I needed an optical drive. actually this was the first thing I thought about. You know the space shuttles have the doors on top, for the satelites... well, they open up and behind them you'll find a slim-line slot-in optical drive. This drive will sit just above the motherboard. It will be a bit cramped, but I think it'll work. Behind the doors is also room for usb and sound things.

HDD
The hard drive will sit in the bottom part of the EFT and shuttle. It'll sit near/in the airflow of the intake fan, so heat won't be a problem.

Wires
The wires coming from the I/O-panel of the motherboard will run through the launch tower to the bottom. From there on the will run behind desks and all sorts of stuff to hide the wires going to the wall-socket (power) and monitor etc.

Lights
I want this thing to look a lot like a real launch tower thing, so there won't be a lot of lights. BUT there will be lights in the nozzles of the solid-fuel rocket boosters and the space shuttle (nozzles not on picture). I was thinking about yellow/orange/red LEDs to symbolize the fire coming from the nozzles.

power/reset buttons
the power button and reset button will be placed on a 'launch-panel' at the bottom of the 'case'. they will look like launch-buttons.

[edit]:
back of the case:

(the tower is hidden on this picture)

The backpanel will be at the back :P. there will be a cut-out on the back and the mobo will sit a few cm from the back. This way the connectors (plugs) of the wires will be a bit hidden inside the EFT. I also added a fan just above the I/O-panel. Keep in mind that the EFT is 168mm in diameter and the motherboard is 170mm. So when the motherboard is placed a fair bit in the shuttle (about 100mm high) there is room enough to make the I/O-panel sunk into the EFT.


I think I explained about everything, but if someone has any questions of any kind, please let me know and I'll try to explain it some more.

- silverdemon -

Thank you for your entry. Where's the I/O port going to stick out at?

Anyone need an extension? We can push it back if need be. I'd rather not cut off any potential entries.

I'm not sure if I need one. An extension would be nice but I'm *so* bad at making myself do things. My designs are done, just gotta draw up my good ones and scan in the current ones to show what's changed. I'll probably do it tomorrow night when I'm on my comp a lot being lazy (4 hours of maths does that to you :P).

I added a picture of the back of my case in my post (#52). If something is still not clear please let me know.

Thanks.

Contest pushed back again. I'm sorry I work waaay too many days and don't have the time to officiate. New date (and last) is April 8th

yay, still working on making mine look pretty <_<

I guess I have another question on the judgin criteria.. do they have to be feasible, functioning cases? As in, when judging are you going to include function or just go for straight artistic form? My design will probably change depending on what you're looking for.

Xtrykr: Really cool design. My first thought was a T-47 Airspeeder (snow speeder) from Star Wars.

silverdemon: Cool concept. I wonder how the engine lights would look if you connected them to the activity LED.

Xtrykr: Really digging the design, my first impression was it kinda looks like a T-47 Airspeeder (snowspeeder) from star wars.

silverdemon: Like the design, I was wondering how it would look if you hooked up the engine lights to act as the activity LED.

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Originally Posted by chaksq

...silverdemon: Cool concept. I wonder how the engine lights would look if you connected them to the activity LED.

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Originally Posted by chaksq

...silverdemon: Like the design, I was wondering how it would look if you hooked up the engine lights to act as the activity LED.

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Thanks, actually the activity-thing would be quite nice! except I would than like it to work the other way around: LED's on at no activity and blinking at activity (so the LEDs will be on most of the time...)

Why did you post twice? :S :P

Oh whoops, I think my browser did something weird and I thought I lost what I had posted so I retyped it, apparently it submitted both times.

Anyways I like the idea of having an inverse indicator. Maybe if you setup some kind of relay that turns off the lights when it is signaled.

Ends in two days! Get your submissions ready!!

Two days... where did the time go?

Last day. You have till midnight tonight! That's 23 hours

UGH!!!
Too bad I have a paper due...

Ends in a little over 2 hours...
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....I guess I'll just have to give the case to Silverdemon.

Pmed you a question.

Sorry, I extended the contest twice.....

it's over. Once again, a real pathetic amount of entries. I may stop holding contests at TBCS all together.

Here's our three participants..

Bentleya

Xtrykr

Silverdemon

Also,

Tomos, your entries are real unspecific, but since you did enter something I will let you PM me with specific entries

I make my decision on Friday

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Originally Posted by TheGreatSatan

...it's over. Once again, a real pathetic amount of entries...

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This actually surprises me a bit too. When someone announces a competition everybody wants to enter and has a good idea, but when the competition starts everyone seems to be gone... even though you can find some nice ideas in the idea section of this same forum...

my excuse - time:( theese competitions take away loads of time, brainstorming, and drawings:/... a big part of theese competitions is that you can make a nice drawing of the thing... its not all but it helps alot!

i dont say that i have a solution, and i most CERTANLY dont say that that case there aint worth the efford... if only there were 48 hours in a day:/

And the winner is...

xtrykr with his cool Batman-esque type of mod!

The Apple Case and the builder's copy of Microsoft Office is yours!


2nd Place goes to bentleya and you win a builder's copy of Microsoft Office!

PM's on the way.

TGS

woah cools! thanks GreatSatan, was a quick, and fun contest to enter! :) and gz to bentleya too!

Congrats to you both! I hope you enjoy your prizes. But really, this forum has only one winner, who should be appreciated a lot more:

TheGreatSatan

Thank you so much for organizing this competition on The Best Case Scenario! Even though I didn't win I did like to enter and I do like to see other people's ideas.

So one huge Thank you and +rep for TheGreatSatan! I hope you change your mind and will organize more competitions on this board. And on the other hand I also hope that more people will enter those competitions.

Thanks,
silverdemon

well done on winning Xtrykr, you are lucking taking a case like that from a mac geek like me :p, only jking, woop woop sencond place and pm sent to you oo great one :P

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Originally Posted by bentleya

well done on winning Xtrykr, you are lucking taking a case like that from a mac geek like me :p, only jking, woop woop sencond place and pm sent to you oo great one :P

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lol, just wait till i give that mac case a pc makeover! xD